“As well as being a superb technician,” wrote the Guardian, “Herbert Henck always puts together his discs with great thoughtfulness.”  His new ECM recording continues that trait. An intriguing disc from the ever-resourceful German pianist brings together the surviving piano works of two composers about whose lives and careers almost nothing was known for more than half a century. Both adopted the twelve-note system in the 1920s, but while the Viennese Trepulka followed the teachings of Josef Matthias Hauer, Transylvanian-born von Hannenheim took his inspiration from Arnold Schoenberg. Henck says: “Listening to the present recording, one is immediately struck by the distinctiveness of these two manifestations of a similar idea developed at virtually the same time”. Both composers died towards the end of the Second World War: Trepulka went missing in action aged 41; von Hannenheim succumbed in a German mental asylum at 47.

Herbert Henck, born in Treysa, Germany in 1948, plays almost exclusively 20th century music about which he has written several books and numerous essays. Henck's previous New Series albums have received the highest praise. Of his Jean Barraqué CD (453 9142), critic Peter Cossé said: “One of the very greatest discographical achievements.” His reading of Hans Otte’s Das Buch der Klänge (462 6552) was used in Jean-Luc Godard’s film ‘De l’origine du XXIème siècle’, and his CDs of Federico Mompou, Alexandr Mosolov, George Antheil, Conlon Nancarrow and John Cage give insight into the creativity of some of the most independent musical thinkers of the 20th century.